Jew married to Israeli wins Nobel Prize
Like father, like son: Kornberg Sr. wins Nobel Prize in medicine; Kornberg Jr. follows in father’s footsteps as Nobel laureate in chemistry
Kornberg was awarded the prize for his research of the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription. The Swedish Academy of Sciences said that Kornberg laid the foundations in the field of gene expression.
Kornberg, 59, heads a staff of about 50 researchers at Stanford University’s medical center in California. His colleagues describe him as a ‘”fearless leader” according to the center’s website.
Kornberg was born to a Jewish family from New York, and shared the prestige of the award with his father, who was received the Nobel Prize in medicine when Kornberg was 12 years old.
Kornberg is married to one of his research colleagues, Israeli Professor Yahli Lorch. The couple visit Jerusalem each year for a few months, and Kornberg lectures at the Hebrew University.
Kornberg is the fifth America Nobel Prize winner this year, following two physicists and two genetic researchers. Names of this year’s Nobel Prize winners in Economics, Literature, and Peace were scheduled for publication in the coming week.
Chaim Levinson contributed to the report
